AUSTIN, Texas — Hurricane Laura officially made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, around 1 a.m. Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 millibars. Laura was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane early Thursday morning for the 4 a.m. update. And as of the latest update, Laura is now downgraded to a Tropical Depression with max sustained winds of 30 mph.
Laura now becomes one of just 10 hurricanes on record to make landfall in the U.S. with winds of 150 miles per hour or higher. Laura also becomes the strongest hurricane with regard to wind speed to make landfall in Louisiana since the "Last Island Hurricane" from back in 1856. No other Category 4 or higher hurricane has made landfall in this region of southwestern Louisiana since records began in 1851.
Hurricane Laura brought a life-threatening storm surge and wind threat to southwestern Louisiana as it moved inland. The National Hurricane Center said "unsurvivable" storm surge of 15 to 20 feet was possible for portions of the southwestern Louisiana coast, and inundation as far inland as 30 miles.
Laura also prompted a rare Excessive Wind Warning for the Lake Charles area. This type of warning is essentially reserved for land-falling major hurricanes capable of producing wind gusts in excess of 115 miles per hour.
Stay with KVUE over the weekend as the KVUE Storm Team keeps a close eye on things. Find the forecast on kvue.com and download the KVUE News app in order to get updates and to check on radar: kvue.com/app. Also be sure to follow KVUE on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Here's the extended forecast:
